Some cotton harvesters, such as the type shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,177 assigned to Deere & Company, include a cotton cleaner for separating seed cotton from trash. The cleaner includes primary and reclaimer saw drums, each having numerous saw tooth discs incrementally spaced along a transverse driven shaft. Seed cotton and trash enter the cleaner and are propelled through a narrow longitudinal opening defined by the outer diameter of the drum, two end walls of the cleaner housing, and a lay-down bar. The lay-down bar presses the cotton upon the rotating saw teeth of the primary drum. As the primary drum rotates at high speed, the saw teeth snag the uncleaned cotton and force it through the narrow opening. The snagged cotton is impelled against several radially spaced bars to further enhance the separation of the trash from the seed cotton. The reclaimer drum snags cotton that gets by the primary drum. A doffer with brushes is rotated at a speed greater than the speed of the primary and reclaimer drums against the tooth discs to dislodge the snagged cotton and propel it towards a conveying duct.